Crude oil is a naturally occurring substance including a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various lengths. Crude oil may be found in porous rock formations or mixed in sand in the upper strata of the earth's crust. The crude oil may pool into reservoirs into which from which the oil may be extracted. Once extracted, the crude oil may be transported to various destinations by pipelines. The pipelines, however, may be subject to material build-up and wear. For example, waxes contained in the crude oil and hydrates formed at a water/oil interface may build-up in the pipelines resulting in occlusions which may necessitate cleaning and may possibly even halt production. In addition, wear may occur due to, for example, friction generated by the flow of the crude oil in the pipeline or particulate matter that may be present in the crude oil.
The same may be true for other transportation pipelines as well. For example, relatively large scale pipelines may carry water, brine or sewage over relatively long distances. Smaller scale pipelines may carry materials throughout a plant, such as polymer pellets, grains or chemical compounds, etc. Depending on the materials carried, many of these pipelines may experience similar problems with respect to wear and material build-up.